Firefly Glen i never miss a thing

@/inkalore

never had he strayed this far from home.
he didn’t notice, really. too caught up in his own hazy world to notice the border he stepped over hours before.
the skies turned pink and red by the time lómion realized how far he’d gone. he blinked a few times, spun around in all directions, then stated out into the wilderness wide-eyed. he was frozen in the moment. confused as to what to do.

time existed for inkalorë in careless paintbrush strokes, a blurry mosaic memory cobbled together from dozens of brief colorful smears of awareness. in the spaces between, concepts like reality and self were loosely defined and only relevant in passing. the star-child knew themself only in blinking golden blips and starry-eyed moments of stark realization; it was always one thing or another, every other day or so. inkalorë would finish a meal or wake from a nap or simply turn their head to the sky and think: this is all different from home, or i've been cold for a long time, or some other mundane observation that meant so little and so much at the same time. it had all changed too fast for the slow-stirring soul, who had slept too long to keep up with a chaotic awakening.

and one day, quite suddenly, they were all alone, still smelling of lotë though their dam was nowhere near. the evening was miserable, the sky all inflamed pink behind dark clouds, the wind cutting right through inkalorë's feathery golden coat, which was still quite wet from the icy drizzle earlier in the day. far from being startled by this development, the star-child took it in stride, and started to search around for a companion, certain that safety and warmth would be nearby. it always was.

from the darkening crimson came a spark of gold. lómion was fixed on the distant figure from the moment he saw it and remained still as they got approached. 
they transformed from a light, to pup, to a child imprinted in memory.
inkalorë, he whispered under his breath with subtle shock. then quite suddenly, he burst into a run. only skidding to a halt when he was near enough to collide with his sibling.

inkalorë heard their name whispered, then the thundering of clumsy paws as lómion came sprinting from the gloom. unperturbed, the star-child met their sibling with a bell-chime giggle of wonder and joy. lómion, your paws are dirty! they chided good-naturedly, tail a blur behind them as they greeted him with affectionate chin-licks. they did not question his presence, nor any of the strange circumstances that had brought the pair back together. all that mattered was that lómion was here. and warm! and dirty-pawed!

it’s as though it was just another normal day for his sibling. they were in good spirits, made clear by their chipper tone and propeller of a tail. 
yes.. lómion replied distantly. he lifted one paw to examine the supposed mess, but he kept his eyes on his much more radiant sibling. 
mummy went looking for you and-. he was interrupted by a series of licks. the boy scrunched his nose but did not pull away. had circumstances been different he’d make a subtle attempt. but inkalorë’s absence had brought him discomfort. seeing them again filled something that was missing within him. he was too caught up on the feeling to care for the unexpected affection.
-and wilwarin.

why? ink questioned their brother with the innocence of one too young and naïve to realize the gravity of a situation. in time, perhaps, they would understand what had happened — but for now, they couldn't see any reason for mom to have gone looking for them and wilwarin. they hadn't been gone that long, after all — and wilwarin wasn't here! wilwarin was at home!

mummy was worried, he replied simply. everyone was worried about you.
where did you go? he’s wondered this since the day his sibling did not return to the den.

@Kukutux i think this would be a good place for her to come in? sorry this is so old, we can keep it quick!

inkalorë frowned when lómion spoke again, filled with a sudden inexplicable anxiety. they looked around, blinking now as if they'd never seen this place before. then terror gripped them, and they called desperately for their mother, howling as loud and far as they could. where was she? how long had it been since they had seen her? inkalorë didn't know.

kukutux was among them at once. inkalorë's voice was on the wind.

she found the child and lómion. with a desperate, relieved tsk, she swept the wayward child close and motioned their brother toward her as well. "your anaa has not yet come home. but you have. we will wait in moonglow for her."

if the others had no questions, moonwoman would slowly usher them home, though from time to time she searched the horizon as if her cloudberry sister and wilwarin might appear.